


he picks up these tired parts of mine

by lastoneleft



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Established Relationship, It's almost gross, Kissing, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Soft Boys, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, seriously they're so soft for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 17:44:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17854238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastoneleft/pseuds/lastoneleft
Summary: When Natsu comes home after a long mission, Gray learns how far Natsu is willing to go for him.





	he picks up these tired parts of mine

**Author's Note:**

> This is for starfirexl over on tumblr. Thanks for the request, lovely <3

Sleeping alone when Natsu goes on missions is always bittersweet. Gray gets the whole bed to himself. He doesn't end up at the very ledge, barely holding on after rolling away from Natsu's heat in his sleep. He doesn't wake up with the television on, or an endless loop of videos autoplaying on Natsu's phone. The blinds stay shut, keeping the morning light from seeping in before 6am. The blankets and sheets don't end up tangled together, pillows don't wind up on the floor. He can have everything the way he wants it. While he doesn't mind the compromise that comes with a relationship, it's nice to have things go entirely his way from time to time.

But the novelty of it wears off after a couple nights. Loneliness catches up with him in the late hours. He and Natsu haven't been apart more than a week since they started dating six months ago. On those rare jobs where clients request one of them and the mission contains information too sensitive to share with the public, they can be separated just long enough for Gray’s sleeping schedule to get thrown out of whack. Without fail, around the third or fourth night of Natsu's absence, Gray can't sleep well at all. All those things that are so nice about sleeping alone cease to matter and all he wants is Natsu beside him again, arms and legs wrapped around him, hot enough for Gray to grumble, only for him to be lulled to sleep by Natsu's steady breathing in his ear.

This mission is longer than most. Natsu's been gone a week and a half. Gray went from going to bed at ten to falling asleep at midnight. Then one. Two. Four. This time it’s five by the time Gray drifts off. He finally managed when he put on the shirt Natsu wore on their last date night. It's wrinkled from sitting in the hamper for nearly two weeks, but Natsu's cologne still lingers on it, and that's all that matters.

Gray feels like he just fell asleep when the bed dips behind him. He blinks, eyes bleary, wondering if he’s dreaming. Then a warm arm wraps around him and Gray whips his head around. Natsu blinks at him, smiling apologetically. “Sorry,” he says quietly. “I didn't mean to wake you.”

“You're back early," Gray says. The clock behind Natsu reads 6am and Gray groans. “Gods, I've only been asleep an hour?”

Natsu looks ready to chastise him, then concern softens his features and he sighs. “I take it you haven't been sleeping well?”

Gray shifts onto his back, arm sliding under Natsu's head so he can press in closer. Gray shrugs a shoulder. “...Not really.”

Natsu says, “I kind of figured when you texted me the other day asking how the job was going. At 3am.” Gray expects Natsu to tell him off about how much sleep he should be getting, but Natsu bites his lip. “I haven't been sleeping that great either,” he admits. “I missed you. A lot.” Gray can feel his cheeks going pink. “I was going to go home and text you in a couple hours,” he continues. “But Happy went to Fairy Hills to wait for Carla to wake up, and being alone seemed…” Natsu trails off, brows pinching together. He runs a thumb over Gray's jaw, looking at the bags under Gray's eyes. “But you look so  _ tired, _ shit. If I'd known you had just fallen asleep, I would have went home, and-”

“Wait,” Gray says, realization dawning on him now that he's a bit more awake. “Why are you back so early?”

Natsu blushes. He lets out a little nervous, embarrassed laugh. “When I got your text, I figured maybe you were having trouble sleeping ‘cause you missed me too.” Gray opens his mouth to let Natsu know he did. That he’s right. But Natsu babbles when he's nervous, and he plows on before Gray can say anything. “So I rushed through the rest of the mission and finished yesterday morning.”

Natsu’s lashes flutter, and he twists his fingers in the hem of Gray’s shirt-  _ his _ shirt- and he’s about to keep talking when Gray laughs. “No, I meant how did you make it here by 6am?” Natsu's cheeks flush pink again. Gray wants to kiss them, feel the warmth under his lips. But he has questions and Natsu has answers so he decides he'll have to try it another time. “Weren't you in Shirotsume?” Natsu nods, staring at Gray’s necklace. “The first train doesn't even  _ leave _ Shirotsume until 6am. How-”

“I walked,” Natsu blurts.

Gray shakes his head. “That walk takes like, two days. Are you sure you finished your job yesterday, Flamebrain? Because unless you walked twenty four hours straight-” Gray stops short. Natsu doesn't meet his eyes, doesn't snort at the nickname. His gaze is still fixed on Gray’s chest, fingers wringing tighter in his shirt. Beneath Natsu's lashes, Gray can see Natsu has bags under his eyes, too. He isn't as loud as he usually is in the mornings, isn't bouncing around, trying to pull Gray out of bed so they can start their day. Natsu stifles a yawn, and Gray’s heart beats a little faster. He places a finger under Natsu's chin until he looks up. “Did you?”

“...Yes,” Natsu says, voice small.

Gray’s stomach flips. “Why didn't you just take a train? I know you get sick, but isn't that a little excessive?”

Natsu goes back to staring at Gray's chest. His fingers leave the hem of his shirt to pick at lint near the collar. “I was supposed to work until Friday. The cheque they gave me is post dated. I didn't have money for the train.”

Gray is dangerously close to kissing Natsu until whatever uncertainty he’s feeling goes away. But curiosity continues to get the better of him. “Would they not let you stay until then? You said they had you in their guest room, right?”

Natsu purses his lips. “They offered to let me stay.”

“Then why-”

“I  _ missed _ you,” Natsu repeats. “And I thought maybe you missed me, and like I said, I thought that might be why you weren't sleeping well- Or, maybe I hoped that was the reason, so I… came back. And I guess it’s kind of weird, not being able to wait a couple extra days.” He takes a deep breath and shakes his head at himself. “I mean, it's just two weeks, right? Other than a bit of insomnia you seem fine. I know we haven't been together that long and I've probably fallen a little deeper than you have, which is fine-”

And suddenly all that uncertainty Gray saw on Natsu's face hits him like a ton of bricks. Gray doesn't let Natsu finish what he was saying. He kisses him like he's been wanting to since he started rambling. Gray’s the one wrapped around Natsu when they part, clinging to him hard. “I…”  _ I missed you, too _ is on the tip of his tongue, but Natsu’s staring at him, eyes soft and bright despite his exhaustion, expression so hopeful, something else spills out entirely. “I love you.”

Natsu’s quiet a second too long, and Gray now understands why Natsu sputters out whatever comes to mind when he's nervous. “And I- You were right,” Gray rushes out. “I missed you like hell, and it kept me up at night.” Natsu’s brows raise. “I don't like it when you're gone that long. I mean, that's the only time you've been gone  _ that _ long but even when you're only gone a week, by the end of it I sleep like shit, and I miss your laugh and your dumb singing in the shower and it makes me think that you should just live here-”

“Live-”

“You're here ninety percent of the time anyway,” Gray blurts. “And this past week and a half made me realize I kind of want you around all the time. Even if there are gonna be mornings where I wanna kill you for leaving coffee in the pot overnight, or eating pasta right out of the pan and scratching the bottom with a fork. And gods, the  _ snoring-” _ Natsu laughs at that, and Gray holds him tighter for it, slowing down long enough to catch his breath. “Even with that, I sleep better when you sound like a chainsaw than when you're not here at all.”

Natsu has that bright, soft look to him again, and all he says is, “Okay.” The tension seeps out of Gray’s shoulders in a deep sigh of relief. Natsu chuckles. “I just walked non stop for a solid day to see you. What'd you think? That I was gonna say no?”

“Shut up,” Gray says, smiling and giving Natsu a gentle shove. Natsu leans back in and kisses him anyway.

Gray yawns when Natsu pulls back. “Get some sleep,” Natsu tells him.

Gray closes his eyes, taking a few moments to appreciate Natsu's warmth pressed into his side, and the slow, soothing sound of his breathing. Gray is just about to drift off when Natsu says quietly, “I love you, too.”

Gray sleeps better than he has in weeks.


End file.
